I hope to use this blog as an avenue to express my thoughts and adventures of all of my fishing expeditions and any other journeys I may undertake.

Monday, March 18, 2013

Beginning my Big Bluegill Quest in "The Year of the Bluegill"

Friday was the day to start my
big bull bluegill quest. So in keeping with the theme “The Year of the Bluegill”
I made my first trip to WalkerCountyLake about 20 minutes from the house. I was so anxious to
get on the water that I forgot to call and check the water temps at the lake. With
that bit of information missing I arrive at the lake around ten and made the
best of the day fishing for really small bluegills and one little bass in 52
degree water. I know exactly when the big bluegill begin there migration to the
shallow water which is 62 degrees and Friday was not the day the big bulls move
anywhere near the shallow edge.

I just had to get a picture
of a Father and Daughter getting ready to try their luck with the red worms. This
little girl was so excited being out there with her Dad. She kept telling him
she wanted to catch a fish!

Using this little boat is the
best way to fish this lake. It sets high in the water and is easy to maneuver
and can get into tight places. I use a rudder on the back to keep it straight
when paralleling the bank. It is light and easy to load in the back of my
truck.

These
little ducks really got to me before the day ended. It seemed everywhere I
placed my nymph they would be there in a few minutes. If I had been fishing
poppers or dries they would have ruin any change for a hit on top, because they
were cruising the banks. They were not Mallards.

This
big bull was worth the trip. It was landed a couple of hour into the trip on a
fly that David Knapp of “The Trout Zone” tied for me a while back. He was tying
some trout flies for me that I will try this month on tailrace. He included
this little Seal Leech nymph in size 12 with the shipment. It was the fly of the day for me.I landed this nice gill with his Leech
pattern using my 8 ½ ft. 4 wt. it was quite a battle, and well worth the trip
for me. I will start my bluegill quest with this big bull being number 1;
so now I only have 99 more to land. I did catch half dozen really small
bluegills as stated earlier with this same nymph. All the hits came in 8 to 10
ft. of water proving that nothing is happening around the edge yet, but there
is always next week.

24 comments:

Glad to see you're getting an early start. I want to see you hit the 100 mark this year.Those "ducks" are American Coots... which are not really ducks at all... just in case you wanted to know. Not everything that swims like a duck is a duck, but if it quacks like a duck it may still be a duck.

Bill, first off, congratulations on a nice fat Bluegill to start off your quest for "100" in the Year of the Bluegill. Secondly, impressed with your little boat. Sounds ideal. How does it handle wind and wave turbulence?

JayI am glad you supplied me with a name for these annoying creatures, they do quack like a duck, so that is the reason I called them ducks. I suspected they were a Coot, but I didn't want to put the incorrect name in the post. The fishing was extremely slow. Thanks for the comment

MelThat little boat is perfect for fishing small lakes and ponds. I have been on Smith Lake when it was white capping and had no problems. Two individuals can fish out of it without a problem. Thanks for the comment

JThe only big gill I landed that day but worth my counting on my quest. I bought the Pelican boat at Academy Sports for 400.00--this is the link, which is showing their 10 ft., but they have the 8 ft. which is not listed. http://www.academy.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_10051_150007_-1__?N=581132420&Ntt=pelican+8+ft.+boats&Ntk=All

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About Me

I am an avid fly fisherman. I started fishing with my dad when I was five years old and have never known life without fishing. The love of the outdoors has been one of the reasons I have enjoyed fishing for all these years. It is the greatest therapy in the world. When I am on the water I forget about everything else except landing that elusive trout, bluegill, crappie or bass.